According to the Verkhovna Rada's website, Ukraine completed the ratification of the U.S.-Ukraine minerals agreement on May 12. President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the deal.
"I myself have heard relatives talking: our village is being attacked, let's roll the car out of the garage, maybe they will shell it — at least we will get money. The car is old, we can't sell it," Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
The new tranche brings total recent EU defense support for Ukraine to 3.3 billion euros ($3.6 billion), marking a significant expansion of European efforts to boost Kyiv's defense industry.
"Russia is ready for negotiations without any preconditions," Putin claimed in an address marking the end of the three-day Victory Day ceasefire. He invited Ukraine to begin talks in Istanbul on May 15.
Both men face charges related to terrorism and espionage. Daniil B. was detained in Lithuania, where he is in temporary custody, while Oleksandr V. remains at large in Russia.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Ukraine and its allies discussed tougher sanctions against Russia's banking sector, central bank, and energy industry.
"We are ready for all options. But of course, we are separately waiting for a response on the ceasefire," a source close to President Volodymyr Zelensky told the Kyiv Independent.
The EU plans to unveil on May 14 its next package of sanctions imposed against Russia over its aggression against Ukraine, an EU official told the Kyiv Independent on condition of anonymity.
Polish truckers plan to restrict freight traffic at the Yahodyn-Dorohusk checkpoint on the Ukrainian border, Ukraine's State Border Guard said on May 12.
"If the Russians are using this level of specialists in urban combat, they are probably facing some difficulties," Ivan Petrychak, spokesperson for the 24th Separate Mechanized Brigade, said.
A view of a Ukrainian tank in the Pokrovsk area as the Russia - Ukraine war continues in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, on Sep. 10, 2024. (Patryk Jaracz/Anadolu/Getty Images)
Ukrainian troops may be forced to withdraw from the city of Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast, said Janek Kesselmann, the deputy commander of the Estonian Military Intelligence Center, in comments reported by ERR on Oct. 4.
The eastern front near Pokrovsk has been the scene of fierce fighting for several months and a focal point of Russia's offensive in Donetsk Oblast. The city is an important logistical hub for Ukrainian forces.
Russian forces were located less than 7 kilometers (4 miles) from the outskirts of the town as of Oct. 4, according to local authorities.
Over the past week, the average number of Russian attacks on the frontline has been 167 per day, with 50% of them targeting the Donetsk direction of the front line, according to Estonian military intelligence.
"In the direction of the town of Pokrovsk, which is at the center of the attacks, Russia has advanced somewhere between 1 and 2 kilometers (nearly 1 mile) in the last week, and the distance to the outskirts of Pokrovsk, as far as we know, is about 5 to 7 kilometers (3-4 miles)," Kesselmann said.
If this intensity continues, it is likely that by the end of 2024, Ukrainian forces will be forced to withdraw from Pokrovsk and take up positions "a little deeper," Kesselmann added.
Estimated Russian advance in the Pokrovsk sector, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, as of Oct. 4, 2024. (DeepState/OpenStreetMaps)
Kesselmann also singled out the capture of Vuhledar by Russian troops as "an important event" of the recent week.
Ukraine's 72nd Mechanized Brigade had defended Vuhledar, key to Ukrainian defenses in the southern part of Donetsk Oblast, for nearly two years. Russian forces had been attempting to capture the town since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022.
Vuhledar withstood numerous attacks in recent weeks as Russian forces attempted to encircle the town. Local authorities confirmed that Russian troops entered Vuhledar on Oct. 1. On the following day, Ukrainian forces withdrew from Vuhledar.
"In our assessment, Ukrainian units have taken defensive positions approximately 7 to 8 kilometers (nearly 4 miles) to the north. And as Ukraine has been forced to withdraw from the town, we will likely see the consolidation of enemy activities in that direction," Kesselmann said.
Pokrovsk, like Vuhledar, was one of Russia's key targets in the Donetsk sector of the front line this summer and early fall.
Residents of the northern part of Donetsk Oblast will be left without water supply for an "indefinite period" due to Russian attacks, Donetsk Oblast Governor Vadym Filashkin said on Oct. 3.
Around 13,000 people, including 94 children, remain in Pokrovsk as the evacuation is ongoing. The town had a population of around 60,000 in January 2022.
As the security situation deteriorates, Pokrovsk's train station was closed for civilian evacuations earlier this month. Evacuations now depart from the train station in Pavlohrad in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, a city 100 kilometers (62 miles) west of Pokrovsk.
Kateryna Hodunova is a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a sports journalist in several Ukrainian outlets and was the deputy chief editor at Suspilne Sport. Kateryna covered the 2022 Olympics in Beijing and was included in the Special Mentions list at the AIPS Sport Media Awards. She holds a bachelor's degree in political journalism from Taras Shevchenko University and a master's degree in political science from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
Francis Farrell
